The invention is in the field of washers (sometimes referred to herein as retainers or fasteners) for affixing a stud to a substrate.
Some of the problems associated with fasteners which affix studs to substrates have been addressed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,834,603 and 4,385,431 whose disclosures are hereby incorporated herein by reference. These patents address problems associated with cracking which occur when washers (retainers) are manufactured by punching a hole through a relatively thin sheet of springy, hardened steel or stainless steel from a first side followed by forming a crown (dome) in the steel from the other (second) side. The exit portion of the punched-out hole contains burrs and irregularities which grip a protruding stud. It is these burrs and irregularities which cause cracking in the steel material and the aforementioned patents sought to prevent such cracking by forming a crown (dome) in the steel from the same side, i.e., the first side of the assembly. In this way the aforementioned patents enabled the production of small overall outside diameter retainers (washers) so that they could be used in miniature devices.
The washers of the instant invention are directed toward fixing a stud to a substrate wherein the substrate is typically manufactured of wood. A problem associated with washers used in affixing studs to wood substrate, for example, has to do with the delivery of the washer by automatic feeding equipment. Washers of the prior art have the disadvantage of delivery problems caused by the washers riding up upon themselves in a delivery system. When the washers ride up onto themselves they tend to shingle causing delivery line blockage and stoppage.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to have a delivery track in combination with stud retainers which can be quickly delivered and applied to the end use. The instant invention will be best understood when reference is made to the Summary Of the Invention, Brief Description Of The Drawings, Description Of The Invention and Claims which follow hereinbelow.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a stud retainer which can be delivered by a delivery track without undue stoppage of the delivery system due to jamming or shingling of the stud retainer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a delivery track which guides a stud retainer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stud retainer which includes at least one wing portion for guiding it through a delivery track.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stud retainer which will not shingle over another stud retainer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stud retainer having minimal dimensions especially those having a minimal diametrical dimension so as to enable use of the retainer in small environments.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a reverse formed stud retainer having smooth gripping edges.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stud retainer made by the method of punching a hole in the spring steel from a first side of said sheet of spring steel creating a smooth surface on the inlet side of said hole, coining said hole from the other side of said steel creating a smooth service on the outlet side of said hole; embossing said hole from said other side of said steel, and, cutting off said stud retainer from said sheet of spring steel.
A stud retainer comprising a generally disk shaped body having a periphery, an aperture therethrough and a wing portion extending from the periphery is disclosed and claimed. The aperture includes an inner diametrical surface and an outer diametrical surface. The inner and outer diametrical surfaces of the aperture are smooth. The disk shaped body includes a crown and the crown is concentric with the aperture. The wing portion extends laterally and transversely from the periphery of the disk shaped body. The wing portion extends arcuately along the periphery of the disk shaped body.
A process for making stud retainers from a sheet of spring steel utilizing a punch, a coin punch, and an embossing punch comprising the steps of: punching a hole in the spring steel from a first side of the sheet of spring steel creating a smooth surface on the inlet side of said hole; coining the hole from the other side of the steel creating a smooth service on the outlet side of the hole; embossing the hole from the other side of the steel; cutting off the stud retainer from the sheet of spring steel and forming undeformed lips; and, compressing the undeformed lips to form the lips which are sometimes referred to herein as the wing portions.
Additional objects of the invention will best be understood when reference is made to the Brief Description Of The Drawings, Description Of The Invention and Claims which follow hereinbelow.